


The Witch's Curse

by Fandom_Landfill



Category: Ever After High
Genre: Angst, Background Relationships, Eventual Happy Ending, Eventual Romance, Family Angst, Multi, My First AO3 Post, My First Fanfic, My First Work in This Fandom, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Possible Character Death, Slow Romance, Slow To Update
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-16
Updated: 2018-11-20
Packaged: 2019-06-28 05:25:40
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,425
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15700686
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fandom_Landfill/pseuds/Fandom_Landfill
Summary: Pearl Witch had her whole world turned upside down when the Atlantis Royal Guard came to tell her that her mother, the Sea Witch, was to stand trial for the potions she created. Driven by the need for proper justice, and slight anger toward the Queen of the Merpeople, Pearl is determined to set things right. Even if her first plan is to become a fugitive on the run and to make everything up as she goes. Let's just hope her friends, Chase Redford, Darling Charming, Raven Queen, and Maddie Hatter, can stop her before she does.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So this is my first fanfic and it's probably bad so I would love to have suggestions on how to make it better and if there were any grammar mistakes. And sorry for the horrible summary.

“Darling Charming, Raven Queen, Maddie Hatter, Apple White, Meeshell Mermaid and Chase Redford swam into the deep-sea cave. They hoped that their friend Pearl Witch hadn’t flipped the script in a wicked way. They hoped that Pearl wasn’t about to fulfill her destiny and become like her mother, the—"

“Brooke! Narrators do not start a story like that! We tell the story from the beginning, not the end! How many times do your mother and I have to tell you that?”

“But starting at the beginning is not a page turner! It’s so boring and—"

“Brooke, listen to your father. We’ll tell the story from here since you won’t follow the rules of being a Narrator.”

The Narrators cleared their voices.

“It all started on a sunny day at Ever After High,

“Pearl!” Raven called out, waving a hand in the air to get the attention of a certain soft damsel.

Said damsel turned her head from her locker, looked at Raven and smiled. “Raven,” she softly closed her locker. “How are you?”

“I’m hexcelent,” Raven exclaimed, stopping at Pearl’s locker. “How are you?”

“I’m, as Blondie Locks would say, just right,” she softly smiled, pulling her books toward her chest. “How do you think you did on the History of Evil Spells test?”

“I think I did fairly good. How about you?” Raven started to walk away.

“I’m hoping I did well,” Pearl quickly caught up with Raven, walking down the halls of Ever After High. “Do you think Madam Baba Yaga will have that test affect our grade a lot?”

“Hmmm,” Raven slowed her pace as she thought. “I hope not. That would be a real curse.”

Pearl nodded her agreement and was about to say something when Raven’s Mirror phone went off. Raven pulled it out of her pocket, checked it and stopped.

“I have to go,” she turned around. “Maddie is talking in her wonderlandish way, which means something spellbounding happened or a fairy-fail happened. I’ll see you later.”

Raven ran off in the direction they had just come from, leaving Pearl alone in the hall. Pearl shrugged her shoulders and continued on her way to the cafeteria, hoping to get some of the spell-binding cookies that they served before they were all gone. She quickened her step and was rewarded with getting a plate full of cookies and other, more substantial, food. She then proceeded to sit outside in order to avoid the usual commotion of the cafeteria and study for her classes.

While she ate her cookies and studied, she failed to notice when someone else sat down at her table and eat their plate of spaghetti. She also failed to notice another person sit down and clear their throat to get her attention. 

“Pearl,” a delicate voice called out, startling said girl from her studying.

“Darling,” she exclaimed, accidentally tossing her notebook a bit. “When did you get here?”

“I’ve been here for a while, but you were so absorbed in studying,” she smirked at Pearl while pointing her fork at the Rebel. “I should be louder whenever I come near you while you study.”

They both giggled at that, before looking over at the third person sitting at the table.

“What brings you here, Chase,” Darling asked, stealing a quick glance at Pearl.

Pearl felt a blush rise to her cheeks from being close to Chase and not realizing that he was there. Chase just smiled at them, causing Pearl to blush more and melt. His smile  
could make the coldest of hearts melt, including Lizzie Hearts’ heart.

“Can’t a guy hang out with his two best friends?” He looked at them both, and his eyes crinkled shut. “Is that a crime now?”

“N-no,” Pearl whispered, wringing her hands under the table.

“It might be if this meeting goes well,” Darling joked.

Chase laughed, which sounded so musical to Pearl, and Darling rolled her eyes.

“Do you have anything good to tell from your classes?”

“Nope,” Chase popped the p. “We went over all of the stuff you already know, Darling.” He then looked at Pearl, “Do you want to learn some of the stuff the guys learn, Pearl?”

Pearl shook her head, unable to see herself holding a sword and face a dragon. “I don’t think it’ll be good for me. Remember, I’m not very violent.”

Chase let out a short laugh, reaching over the table and rubbing her head, “That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t learn some things to defend yourself.”

“I have my potions and spells,” she proudly stated. “They can protect me and anyone else.”

Chase nodded as he shoved spaghetti into his mouth, the hunger he felt evident in the way he ate. Darling had almost finished her plate while Pearl still had to start hers.

“You should eat Pearl. You need to eat to focus on studying,” Darling pointed her fork at Pearl again. 

“Though you don’t need to study,” Chase talked around his food. “You’re the smartest witch I know.”

“Tha…. thanks,” Pearl felt the smile pull her lips back and make her eyes close. She loved that Chase though she was a smart witch, but she still needed to study.

The trio ate in a comfortable silence until the bell rang, telling them all to go to their classes. 

“You should tell him how you feel,” Darling said once they were out of Chase’s earshot. “You two would make a cute couple.”

“W-what,” Pearl nearly tripped over her own feet. “I…. You know I can’t do that.”

“It won’t ruin anything between you two. You guys are solid. Way more solid than Daring and Apple.”

“We are not. Daring and Apple are THE couple. They’ll be together for ever after. They’re destined for each other.”

“Not after what happened,” her tone grew darker.

“What do you mean?”

“Apple ate a poisoned apple but Daring couldn’t wake her with his kiss. I did.”

“Are you serious? Why has no one talked about this?”

“It's actually all anyone is talking about Pearl," Daring looked down at her feet "But”

“But you like Apple and you know that she likes Daring. Darling,” she hugged the smaller girl. “I’m so sorry. I wish I had known.”

“It’s okay, but we should get to class.”

“You’re right. I’ll see you after classes?”

“You bet. Spell you later.”

“Pearl Witch to the Headmasters office. Pearl Witch to the Headmasters office now.”

Pearl sighed as she began to walk away from her class, dreading what had happened to get her in trouble with the Headmasters. She hadn’t been selling potions that helped others study and she hadn’t been troublesome since she got here. Maybe that’s why the Headmasters wanted to talk to her? Since she wasn’t fulfilling her destiny? But she didn’t have it in her to grant people’s wishes at a high price. 

She walked up to the Headmasters office and hesitated to knock on the door. She didn’t want to face the Headmasters with whatever trouble she was in. She really didn’t want to know what laid behind the grand wooden doors that kept the Headmasters office closed. But she had to be in there and face whatever was coming her way.

Taking a deep breath, she lightly knocked on the door, waiting patiently for an answer. So, she stood in front of the grand wooden doors for a few minutes, before sighing deeper this time. She knocked harder, harder than she meant to, but was immediately greeted with a cold, “Come in,” which she obeyed.

She walked in and was shocked out of her mind. 

There, standing next to the Headmaster, were guards from Atlantis. The Atlantis Royal Guard was next to the Headmaster and were spread throughout the room, blocking the windows and standing behind the doors.

“Ms. Witch,” Headmaster Grimm called, “Please take a sit.” He motioned to one of the chairs in front of his desk. Pearl silently and cautiously obeyed the Headmaster. “You are probably wondering why you’re here and why the Atlantis Royal Guard is here.” Pearl nodded, a lump forming in her throat made it impossible for her to speak. “Well, I’ll let them explain.”

“Thank you, sir,” Pearl assumed the Captain of the Royal Guard stepped forward. “We are here to inform the Ms. Pearl Witch that her mother, the Ms. Sea Witch, has been apprehended for her crimes against the royal crown. She is to be tried for her crimes against the Queen during her majesty’s teenaged years. She will be prosecuted in a week and she has informed us that she wishes for you to stay out of Atlantis. Your mother wishes that you stay here at Ever After High while she is on trial.”

Pearl looked at the guard in shock. Her mother was arrested? Was it about the potion she sold the Queen when she wanted to meet the Man on Land? It had to be. What else could it be?

“The Queen knew what she was getting herself into when she asked my mother for a potion,” Pearl argued. “The Queen signed a document stating everything that my mother would be held accountable for. The Queen, hopefully but highly doubted, read the fine print and the whole document twice before signing it. The document specifically said that the Queen—er Princess at the time—couldn’t take any actions against my mother if the potion failed.”

“There is no signed document, Ms. Witch,” the guard spat back.

“Oh, there is a document,” Pearl defended, feeling her anger bubble inside her. “My mother keeps the original copies of every potion and spell she sold. I know exactly where it is, and I can tell you if you weren’t being such a—"

“Ms. Witch,” Headmaster Grimm sternly called, “why don’t you go back to your room? You’ll be excused for the rest of the day. Your teachers will be informed of why you will be missing class.” 

She gave the guard a sharp look before leaving the room, almost stomping her way down the halls. Her mind was going a mile a second, but nothing was processing. She couldn’t make out the thoughts that ran through her mind. It was all too much for her. She slammed her room door open, scaring her roommate out of her bed.

“A little warning would be nice, Seashell,” Courtly snapped from the floor, the book she was reading atop her head.

“Oh, shut it Court,” Pearl sighed, looking through Courtly.

Courtly was taken aback. No one had ever looked through her before, she knew that. Courtly made it hard for anyone to look through her since she came to Ever After, but this made her scared instead of annoyed, like it did in Wonderland. Courtly took another step back, bringing her hands up in an attempt to protect herself. She tensed when she saw Pearl open her mouth and waited. 

Pearl stormed over to her spell area. It housed her cauldron and all the supplies she used for her potions and spells. She grabbed her giant container of refilling sea water and dumped half in. She grabbed a chopped octopus leg from a jar and threw it in. Next was a handful of fish eyes, then a giant conch shell and finally a heart. She stirred all the ingredients in the cauldron, chanting,  


“Guardians of Sight,  
Allow me to see my mother.  
Guardians of Sound,  
Allow me to hear my mother.  
Guardians of Voice.  
Allow me to speak to my mother.  
Guardians of Love,  
Allow my mother to sense my love.  
Guardians,  
Please hear my plea.”

Courtly watched from afar as the cauldron started to glow brightly. She watched Pearl using her magic, a rarity for her to see. Courtly leaned in further to try to see through the murky water and fell on her face. She looked up in time to see Pearl at a horrifying angle, the glow of the cauldron made her look like she was a Rebel.

“Wh—Pearl?!” A voice called from the cauldron.

“Mother” Pearl exclaimed, her face softening. “I’m coming home.”

“Absolutely not, young lady. I forbid you from coming home. And before you ask,” her mother cut her off, seeing how Pearl was about to object, “I already have someone covering the store for me and you already have all the ingredients you need so there is on reason for you to be here. And you will not be coming home, end of story.”

Pearl groaned in frustration. “Mother, you are going on trial for a spell you sold the Queen when she was young that she signed her voice for. She has no right to arrest you. You have the original copy of the contract that was made. You need to show it to the judge. It’ll help—”

“Nothing will help, Pearl,” her mother snapped. 

Pearl took a step back, confusion clearly written on her face.

“The judge will take the Queen’s side because she is the Queen and the reason why she has a job. Her Majesty may not know this, but she will win the trial, no matter what evidence they find. I will be arrested. I just hope the punishment isn’t too severe.”

“That’s not fair!” Pearl shouted, raising her arms in frustration. “Just because she wears a dumb crown—”

“Don’t insult the Queen, Pearl,” her mother reprimanded.

“It’s a dumb rock on her head, Mother,” Pearl deadpanned. “it’s going to get insulted one way or another. But it’s not fair that you have to deal with the consequences of her actions. She should be held accountable. Who even brought this up again? Why is it happening now?”

Her mother looked away, unable to answer her daughter’s questions. “You have to accept it, my shining Pearl.”

“Don’t use cute names on me right now. This is no time to be using those names. We have to figure out a way to fix this. To make sure that the judge is impartial and fair.” Pearl brought her fist up to her lip, pacing around to think of some way to save her mother.

“Pearl,” her mother breathed. “You need to focus on school and creating your own destiny. I don’t want you involved in any way with this. I love you, Pearl.”

“I love you too, Mom.” 

The glowing dulled down, leaving the room in a cold color. 

Pearl sighed heavily and ran her hands over her face. She walked until she felt her bed and laid down on it. A muffled groan escaped through her hands, the frustration evident in it. She pulled the skin of her face down as she removed her hands, staring up at the ceiling.

Courtly watched all of this quietly, before sitting cross-legged to look right at Pearl.

“What are you going to do, Pearl?” Courtly asked, her voice quiet and unsure. “You could disobey your mother, or you could stay here and study.”

Pearl continued to stare at the ceiling.

“She’ll be happy if I stay here. But I also know she doesn’t want to be sentenced for that brat’s decisions.”

Pearl sat up and looked at Courtly.

“I’m going to save my mother.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I switched between pov's so there's that. If there are any issues, please tell me. Thank you for reading this work. I would love critique so I can make this better.

“I would love to help you,” Courtly started.

“I don’t need your help,” Pearl interrupted, packing clothes into a small purse. “I can take the Royal Guards on by myself.” She started to put potion ingredients into the purse.

Courtly stared at her in shock before shaking her head to snap her back to attention. “I figured. Now let me be the voice of reason. What are you going to do when you get her?”

Pearl hesitated before grabbing the thick spell book she used. “I have no idea, but it’ll work out. We’ll figure it out when I get her out. It shouldn’t be that hard.”

“Pearl” Courtly all but shouted. “You two will be fugitives on the run! Nobody will let you stay. You two won’t survive.”

She paused, holding her purse. She looked right at Courtly with a cold glare. Courtly felt chills run down her spin, her heart pounding with dread. They stared at each other for a minute, a silent threat crossing between them. Then Pearl turned and walked to the center of the room.

“Make sure no one knows what I’m about to do or else.”

Those were the last words Courtly heard before a puff of teal smoke clouded the room. When the smoke cleared, Pearl was gone and Courtly was filled with dread.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Pearl felt the bones in her legs reform, changing into the start of a shark tail. She felt them growing as her skin stretched and hardened into scales. She breathed a sigh of relief as she felt her fins finish, giving her back her true form. Pearl sensed the absence of her nose and the appearance of her gills. 

Pearl couldn’t help the smile that formed on her face as she started to swim and failed to go far. She let out a short laugh as she somersaulted around, before getting a grip and swimming farther. She felt the shells and small fragments of coral hit her upper tail, signaling that she had her working belt on. She didn’t need to look at her body to see her tattoos were fully shown.

She looked ahead of herself to navigate through the kelp forest that she had teleported to. She had to make it to her house before she could go to the castle. She had to get the book that held every single contract that her mother ever did. She had to.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Courtly walked the length of the room at least twice, trying to figure out what to do about Pearl. She was adamant about no one knowing where she was but how was Courtly supposed to explain why she wasn’t here? What would she tell Pearl’s friends when they came barging in here?

She threw her hands in the air in exasperation. “Thanks for giving me such a good lie to tell, Pearl.”

She walked the room once more before a knock startled her. She walked over to the door and opened it. She wasn’t surprised to see Darling a little before the door, though she was surprised to see Chase there.

She pulled a Cheshire cat smile, the urge to snap at Pearl rising.

“Well hello Darling, Chase,” she dragged the hello out. “What brings you two here at this time, hmm?”

“We’re here to see Pearl,” Darling’s delicate voice rose, standing taller to look over Courtly. “Is she here?”

“Oh, you just missed her,” she placed her head into a hand, feigning disappointment. “She just went out.”

“Do you know when she’ll be back,” Chase voiced his concern, his deep voice pleasing Courtly’s ears.

“I don’t, Sweet cheeks,” she purred. “But you can stay if she comes back.”

They both snapped to look at Courtly. 

“If?” Chase repeated. “Where is she?”

“If I knew, I would tell you.” She paused before shaking her head and laughing. “Who am I kidding? I wouldn’t tell you even if I knew.”

“Courtly,” Darling took a step forward, her voice dropping low as she looked up at Courtly. “Where is she?”

Courtly swallowed thickly, avoiding their questioning looks.

“She…uh,” Courtly started. “She went to Maddie’s tea shop!”

Darling and Chase shared a look before they pushed their way through the door. 

“Let’s see what Pearl took with her then,” Darling sweetly stated, though her face was anything but that. 

Chase and Darling began to look over Pearl’s half of the room, noting the lack of potion supplies, her family spell book and the lack of clothes in her closet. Darling also took notice of the way the cauldron felt when she touched it.

“It’s warm,” Darling slowly pulled her hand back. “And her closet is missing her tops.”

“Her potion supplies and spell book are missing as well,” Chase added, walking over to Darling. “So Courtly, want to tell us again where Pearl is?”

Said rebel sighed with an annoyed expression pulling at her face. 

“She talked to her mother,” Courtly started. “Something about the Queen bringing her mother to trial over a failed potion or spell or whatever. She talked about how she was going to save her mother and I tried to reason with her that it was stupid but then she poofed away.”

Darlings eyes widened as she realized what had happened.

“So, Pearl went after her mother, who is on trial,” Darling shouted, her anger coating every word like poison. “And you didn’t think of calling one of her friends to actually talk sense into her?” 

“Hey,” Courtly fought back. “I didn’t have the time to get that princess’s friends. Not with how quickly she made sure to go.” She threw her hands up in frustration. “And now she’ll be mad at me since she told me not to tell anyone and here you two are.”

“We need to get someone else,” Chase placed his hand on Darling’s shoulder. “We need to get more people if we want any chance of bringing her back without her getting into any trouble.”

“You’re right,” she breathed out, “We should get Raven to help us.”

“And someone who knows the sea.”

“So, we’ll need Meeshell to help us out with that.”

“Do you think that will be enough people?”

“Those will be the necessary people.” Darling walked out of the room, already looking for Raven Queen and Meeshell Mermaid. “I don’t know anyone else will join though. But we need to hurry if we want to get to Pearl before she frees her mother.”

“Shouldn’t we tell the Headmasters about this,” Chase inquired as he caught up to Darling. “It would—”

“No,” Darling abruptly turned around, causing Chase to stop immediately in his tracks before he completely ran her down. “They would make a huge deal out of the fact that she was following her destiny. And Pearl would love to keep the ‘Destiny Spotlight’ off of herself as much as possible. You know how she hates mass attention.”

Chase sighed and apologetically rubbed the back of his neck. They both knew all to well the kind of attention she liked. And even then, she liked it to be kept at a minimum. 

“Yeah, you’re right.”

“Hey,” Darling smiled. “It wasn’t a bad idea. It just wasn’t the best. We can keep it as an option though, in case finding the two damsels takes too long.”

Chase gave a short nod before he started walking, well fast-walking, down the halls. “Then we need to find them asap or else we’ll have to do something Pearl doesn’t like.”

Darling giggled before she set off after him, keeping a running pace. “We definitely will.”

They wondered down the halls, taking random turns and asking various students if they had seen either Raven Queen or Meeshell Mermaid. 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“Finally,” Pearl breathed out, stopping to catch her breath. “I finally made it home.”

Before her stood a humble shipwreck, which her and her mother called home. The windows were still intact and there was a makeshift doorway, currently being covered by a mismatched wooden door. She took notice of the added missing planks and the fish that swam away quickly.

She swam up to the front door and started checking for the house key. She checked behind the plants and under the odd “Welcome” mat with no luck. 

“Where is that key,” she mumbled, scratching her hair. “It has to be here somewhere. But where is the question.”

She thought some more, scratching her head before her fingers bumped against the fish skeleton pin. Her eyes widened as she realized the house key was in her hair.

“Silly me,” she laughed, gently taking out the pin. “I forgot Mom enchanted this to be the house key when I didn’t have the real one.”

Pearl gently held the fish skull between her fingers.

“Change this pin to what it is  
Turn it back into a key  
Make sure it’s the house key  
That Mother gave to me.”

The skeleton emitted a gently glow as it changed into a key. Pearl smiled with delight as the key fit into the lock perfectly. She swam in with excitement, changing directions to see the new inventory on the shelves. She had really missed swimming into the store every day.

She shook her head to rid herself of the longing that started to bubble in her heart. She had no time to dwell on the past. She had to find the original contracts that proved her mother ran an honest business. 

Pearl looked around the store first, checking behind every item on the shelves and under the counters. She huffed in displeasure when she couldn’t find it there. Swimming past the door marked “Employees Only”, she made her way through her house. She checked every room thoroughly before moving onto the next and eventually upstairs. She checked her room, even though she knew it wouldn’t be there, before moving to the last room, her mothers’ room. 

The door let out a soft groan as it opened, allowing light to flood the pitch-black room. Pearl cautiously moved through the room, making sure that anything that was moved was put in the exact same spot as how she saw it. Groaning in annoyance when she couldn’t find it, she checked the closet. She moved everything around, tops were shoved aside while belts where placed elsewhere. Pearl finally found it when a stack of old clothes was moved, the box in perfect condition for being under heavy clothes. 

“Aha!” She laughed, kissing the box. “I finally found you, you hiding stinker! Haha!”


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for taking so long. I'm in the middle of college and boy is it kicking my butt. I also changed some things up. Instead of focusing on both Chase and Darling's side and Pearl's side, I'm just going to focus on Chase and Darling, if that makes sense. I also realized that the writing isn't the best so I'll try to fix it in later chapters and I'll try to make the chapters longer in later chapters. Thank you for leaving kudos, it's really nice to know that people like my writing and my story! Anyway, here's the next update!

“Chase,” a familiar voice called from behind the duo, causing both to turn from the conversation they had been sucked into.

“Raven,” Darling shouted, rushing over to said damsel. “Chase and I have been looking all over the school grounds for you!”

Darling wrapped her arms around Raven, pulling her into a much needed hug. Raven returned the hug, hesitating at first out of confusion.

“That’s what I had heard,” Raven let go of Darling. “Why do you need me and Meeshell so badly?”

Chase was finally released from the conversation and placed his had gently on Darling’s shoulder. He let out a sigh that deflated his posture, as if more weight had been added to his shoulders. 

Raven’s eyes widened in disbelief and confusion. She passed a look between Darling and Chase, her eyes lingering on Chase’s hand. She looked around the hall before leading Darling and Chase to an empty room, her head looking around like it was on a swivel stick. Her actions caused Chase to raise an eyebrow and Darling to shrug her shoulder until his hand fell limp beside him.

“Okay,” Raven closed the doors before having them support her body weight. “How long has this been going on?”

“How long has what been going on?” Chase asked, his confusion becoming etched on his face.

Raven turned around and let out a breath that she had been holding in dread and anticipation.

“How long have you two been a thing?”

“We aren’t dating,” Darling stepped forward, confidence radiating off of her. “You know I wouldn’t date him.”

Raven brought her eyes up to Darling’s and they stared at each other, with Chase looking over Darling’s shoulder and his mouth open to catch flies. Why did Raven think that him and Darling were dating?

Raven released a sigh of relief and visibly relaxed against the door, sliding down slightly. “Good. This would have been hard to explain otherwise.”

“Why did you think Darling and I were dating,” Chase had finally found his voice and looked between Darling and Raven. 

“You guys looked guilty and like you both needed to talk.” She looked between the duo, both avoiding her gaze. “Let’s talk.”

Raven walked toward the desks and selected one in the front row. She crossed her legs and gave an encouraging smile to the duo. Her hands rested in a loose grip on top of the desk.

“Um,” Darling started, lightly elbowing Chase in the side. “We, uh, wanted to talk to you about….”

Chase rubbed the back of his neck in a guilty manner, either ignoring or oblivious to Darling’s attempts of getting him to explain. 

“Come on guys,” Raven gave a gently smile. “It’s just me. You can trust me with whatever you have.”

“We… we know that,” Darling couldn’t hide the disappointment and sadness in her voice. “It’s just that this is hard to explain.”

Raven relaxed into the desk as best she could, knowing that this could take a lot longer than she originally thought. “Take your time.”

Chase slowly sat down on the floor, resting his hands on his knees. He looked exhausted, like he had just come back from one of his fighting classes. His head slowly found its way into his hands, his palms covering his eyes and he exhaled heavily. Darling followed him after a pause, sitting like a lady but her head hung low.

“What’s going on guys,” Raven made her way to where they sat. “This isn’t something you do. Neither one of you two sigh that heavily and it looks like your happily ever after is burning right in front of you.” She sat with them and place and hand on their knees. 

“It’s Pearl,” Chase finally whispered out, his voice thick with emotion. “She….she’s gone.”

“She found out that her mother was arrested for the potion that she sold to Meeshell’s mother,” Darling explained, her hand resting on Raven’s. “We found this out from Courtly.”

“And so, she’s gone?” 

Darling looked up from Raven and her hands, meeting confused eyes with ones that held understanding and confusion. Darling nodded her head slowly, finally letting everything sink in and realizing that there were so many things that didn’t make sense. So many things that didn’t match up. 

Pearl wasn’t the type to threaten anyone, yet she had done that with Courtly. Pearl wasn’t the person who went anywhere without a solid plan and at least three different backup plans. Pearl was not someone who disregarded rules and did what she wanted. This Pearl wasn’t theirs. This Pearl was someone new and Darling didn’t know how to feel. She couldn’t even imagine how Chase felt, watching one of his close friends fly off the handle and do something this drastic. 

“This isn’t our Pearl.” 

It was a statement, a fact, that was just now setting in. This was a broken statement, one that was so unsure about what was going on that it was just full of confusion. It was a statement that was spoken so softly, as if the person who said it was afraid of bringing this new truth to light and hurting everyone in the room. It was a statement that hung in the air, like a thick fog in the morning.

It was a statement spoken by Chase, as he looked down at his hands, as if trying to find the answers to all of this in the lines of his hands. 

Darling studied him. She studied the way his eyes roamed over his hands, unfocused and lost. She studied how the corners of his mouth hung low and how his brow was furrowed in concentration. She studied the way his eyes blinked rapidly, showing that he was fighting back tears over the possibilities that were turning into mountain ranges in his mind. She saw how his eyes started to cloud over, sucking the warmth right out of them. 

He was destroyed by this. It was so obvious that he cared deeply for Pearl, and Darling knew exactly why. It was no secret to Darling that Chase had feelings for Pearl, but he didn’t fully know it, or know at all. 

Darling gently set her free hand on his, squeezing his hand to get his attention.

Chase slowly looked up, his eyes still clouded, and the lost look dissolved slightly.

“We’ll get her back. I promise.”

He nodded his head slowly, hope coming back into his eyes. He knew how much Pearl would hate to become like her mother before she was born. He knew that she had always wanted to become someone who helped others, not take advantage of their insecurities for something precious. 

“We’ll get her back.” His eyes held a determined and hopeful look, one that held those words as a promise. He would save her from fulfilling her destiny, no matter what.


End file.
